NETconsent/FAST Policy Management & Procedures Poll Results 2007

 Poll Highlights

• 94% of members have ICT security policies in place at work of which almost two thirds (60%) are updated at least once a year.
• More than three quarters (77%) of respondents do not have a process in place to ensure these policies are understood putting their organisations at risk.
• With just under half (44%) of respondents claiming that they lacked confidence in their colleagues understanding of ICT policies, organisations are increasing the risk of policy breaches.
• 40% of respondents admit that they have had to initiate disciplinary procedures as a result of a member of staff breaking ICT policies.
• The costs of such occurrences can escalate quickly; over three quarters (77%) of associated costs are spent on putting a case together and attending disciplinary hearings; diverting attention from other more strategic human resources (HR) functions.

Review Executive summary and statistical results of policy management poll The purpose of this poll was to understand how FAST members and associates manage their information and communication technology (ICT) policies and whether having such policies reduces the need to initiate costly disciplinary procedures.

Dominic Saunders, NETconsent’s Operations Director, says: “It is surprising that such a high proportion of respondents have concerns surrounding their colleagues’ understanding of policies yet still don’t have a process to educate and test policy recognition. Effective policy management is fundamental to managing risk and improving compliance.”

“Increasingly organisations are looking for practical ways of managing the policy management lifecycle to cut administration costs and protect themselves against litigation. Policy management tools like NETconsent, are fast becoming an essential application for those serious about demonstrating best practice and exemplary corporate governance.” 

“IT compliance is a legal requirement", states John Lovelock, Director General of The Federation Against Software Theft. "All Board Members must take their responsibilities seriously to ensure that organisations are complying with the law. Policies are an important communication tool not only to educate users and remind them of their rights, responsibilities and the consequences of their actions, but also to protect them."

NETconsent Policy Management & Communications Software

Please take the opportunity to review the capabilities of newly released NETconsent V4 modules for testing employee understanding of your policies, reporting policy compliance and polling employee opinion. Press Release

	Policy Manager Create legally valid proof of employees having seen, understood & agreed to policies In a growing litigious society, policies and procedures must to be available, kept up-to-date, clearly communicated and identifiable for compliance reporting. Policy manager ensures that employee agreement is obtained for each and every policy, so that organisations can prove compliance and demonstrate sound governance. Download NETconsent Policy Manager datasheet (pdf) ----------------------------------------------------------
	NETconsent Assessor Poll opinions, undertake assessments and analyse employees’ feedback and attitudes Assessor facilitates the automated and cost effective conduct of staff surveys/questionnaires. It not only distributes the questionnaires, but retrieves the results and collates a summary of the findings. This is a powerful new way to involve all staff in the decision making process. Download NETconsent Assessor datasheet (pdf) ----------------------------------------------------------
	NETconsent Examiner Test, monitor and report employees’ understanding of policies Examiner enables the automated distribution, retrieval and recording of results of completed multi-choice questionnaires, which have been produced to test the understanding and comprehension of a particular corporate policy, by the staff concerned.  Key benefits are that this system will highlight training needs, and help ensure that the structure and detail of policies is best suited to their target audience. Download NETconsent Examiner datasheet (pdf) ----------------------------------------------------------
	NETconsent Reporter Analyse, track, present and manage policy and risk management information Reporter is a powerful new module that facilitates the production of multiple management reports. At the push of a button, managers can establish, by council, department, or team, how many staff have acknowledged and agreed, or not agreed, to which policies. It provides instant feedback on the state of compliance, and if there is a problem, it pinpoints its location. Download NETconsent Reporter datasheet (pdf)